SKETCHES OF THE SOUTH WEST
[SKETCHBOOK.]
Album of pencil sketches.
Bristol and South-West of England, c. 1892–1904.
Oblong 4to, ff. 29, with 10 additional leaves loose at back; c. 29 pencil drawings, one small watercolour sketch; sketch on f. 20 pasted in, ff. 26 & 27 loose but still present; in the original canvas cloth, lightly dust-soiled; bookseller’s ticket of Reeves & Sons, London to front pastedown.
A charming turn-of-the-century album of pencil sketches of the South West of England, seemingly by an accomplished Bristol amateur artist.
The sketchbook was filled gradually, over a period of about eight years, by a skilled anonymous amateur artist. The sketches themselves centre around Bristol and its environs, with clusters of drawings which suggest occasional trips to other locations in the South West, and focus mainly on landscapes and natural scenes – waterfalls, streams and rivers (including a view of the Avon), glades, rock formations – but also including sketches of villages, farms, homes, derelict buildings and ruins, and one sprawling factory, which though unidentified could be the Fry’s Chocolate Factory. Our artist visited Lyme Regis for a day or two in July 1892, capturing the harbour and details of the ships moored there; and travelled to Lynmouth in the September of 1893, producing a beautiful series of views from the area, including sketches of the Devil’s Cheese Ring, Castle Rock, Glen Lynn and the Rhenish Tower.
The views of Bristol include a silver beech on Durdham Downs, Clifton Downs, a view of Redland, Narroway’s Hill, The Dower House at Stoke Park, a view down Coldharbour Lane, Ashley Hill, and Conham; many of these have now changed beyond recognition, and the sketches provide a glimpse into the area as it was over a century ago.
